ARTIST COLLECTION

"Bugatti" ©Jay Koka

"Push" ©Jay Koka

Push

60”w x 36”, (150x90cm) acrylic on canvas
artist collection
NOT FOR SALE

"The Drift No2" ©Jay Koka

The Drift No2

by Jay Koka, © 2008
48”w x 16”, (120x40cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection
NOT FOR SALE

Jay Koka: "The first "Drift" painted in 2000 was so successful, it was time to do an updated follow-up but in a style more representative of the way I paint almost a decade later. The first Drift was a tightly rendered, relatively small gouache piece featuring a Jaguar XKD pictured at speed in a way that is difficult to focus upon.
My painting style has changed a lot and I now very rarely paint in gouache on board preferring the speed of process and color intensity of acrylics and the textures imposed by the canvas.
The difference in result is clearly evident in a side-by-side comparison… although the sense of speed and blur of color are still present in this newer work."
"The Drift No2" features a Porsche Carrera GT at speed.
This major work premiered in 2008 at the AFAS Art Exhibition in Pebble Beach.
This painting was subsequently featured in the 30th anniversary book "30:30" on page 68 as the 2008 Gallery selection.

"Hey, Nice Car!" ©Jay Koka

Hey, Nice Car!

by Jay Koka, © 2009
44”w x 60”, (110x150cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection
NOT FOR SALE
Jay Koka: "I was out on my bike (Ducati 999) last year (2008) and I pulled up beside a female friend driving a beater. She didn't see me coming until I pulled up beside her and said… sarcastically… hey, nice car!
As is usual for me, the idea for a painting came in a flash. And as is also usual for me, it took me a while to get it done.
Oddly, I had not considered the impact of the very large image area occupied by the door until I actually started the painting. I was very concerned at the beginning that it would become the dominant element of the painting. I had to work hard to keep it under control and in the end, I think it worked out well. "Hey, Nice Car" features my Porsche Cayman S and an interior that makes it worthwhile to look inside."
A very large 44x60" major new work from Jay Koka that premiered at AFAS Art Exhibition at Pebble Beach in 2009.
This major work was also selected as the 2009 Gallery Work in the 30th anniversary book "30:30" in which significant works were selected to represent each of the first 30 year.

"Bored" ©Jay Koka

Bored

by Jay Koka, © 2010
54”w x 44”, (135x110cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection
Please contact the studio for pricing.

Jay Koka: "I got the idea for "Bored" while walking around the pit area of the track during the Cavallino Ferrari Classic event in West Palm Beach Florida in 2009.
My wife Cathy has been to enough car shows and races to last at least two lifetimes and I often get the sense she would rather be somewhere else... just about anywhere else that does not involve cars.
Although Cathy is a stand-in for a lot of my paintings, the girl in this painting is not her, she just represents the idea... a person completely unimpressed and unmoved while surrounded by some pretty impressive wheels.
The painting was a long time coming...more than a year just to get it started and then about ten months of off-and-on work. Oddly, I completed the painting in the middle of my move to a different painting style that came fully to fruition a year later in 2011 and it really sticks out in the new group of paintings... a different color palette and brushwork. But I do like it and in the end, I think the effort was worthwhile."
A very large 54x44" major new work from Jay Koka that premiered at AFAS Art Exhibition at Pebble Beach in 2010.
This major work was also selected as the 2010 Gallery Work in the 30th anniversary book "30:30" in which significant works were selected to represent each of the first 30 year.

"Cherry Ice Cream" ©Jay Koka

Cherry Ice Cream

by Jay Koka, © 2013
36”w x 24”, (90x60cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection
Please contact the studio for pricing.

Jay Koka: This painting of the Mercedes Benz SLR Stirling Moss was inspired by an early evening walk down Ocean Avenue in Carmel during "Car Week" on the way to dinner.
The car was the first thing that caught my attention but then I noticed all the people with cameras milling around and the wonderful warm light spilling onto the sidewalk from the stores and the car headlights on the road.
Look in the window of the art gallery and you will see some Koka originals including the 2012 Peter Helck Award winning Savannah No5 and "Hey, Nice Car!" from 2009.
A 36x24" major work from Jay Koka that premiered at AFAS Art Exhibition at Pebble Beach in 2013.
This major work was also selected as the 2013 Gallery Work in the 30th anniversary book "30:30" in which significant works were selected to represent each of the first 30 year.

"Seven Tuks in Bangkok" ©Jay Koka

Seven Tuks in Bangkok

by Jay Koka, © 2015
44”w x 34”, acrylic on canvas, Artist Collection
NOT FOR SALE

TUK-TUK: wikipedia: "An auto rickshaw, also known as a three-wheeler, samosa, tempo, tuk-tuk (in Thailand), trishaw, autorick, bajaj (in India), keke Napep or Maruwa (in Nigeria), rick, tricycle, mototaxi, baby taxi, lapa or tukxi (Piaggio Ape Calessino) in popular parlance, is a common form of public transportation in many countries ..."
"I've seen Tuk-Tuks in countless countries and, I have to confess, I would love to own one." says Jay Koka, "I am however concerned that it would be a real roll of the dice to walk away from a collision with anything but the tiniest cars where I live." (They are called Tuk-Tuks in Bangkok because of the sound of their engine.)
"Like everyone else, I thought that Tuks are all the same... as cool as they are, they are really nothing more than overgrown 3-wheel motorcycles. Bangkok is home to an astonishing number of them, more than anywhere else I've been and it's when you see them in a group, standing still, that you start to have an appreciation for how different they truly are from one another."
"In big tropical cities like Bangkok, they are the ubiquitous Taxi. But closer examination like that required while doing this painting has shown me that first they are very different from each other and second that they perform an immense number of jobs. For example, in the painting there are a number of Taxi's but there are also a couple of "freight" Tuks, sort of like small transport trucks that carry everything that can possibly be strapped, balance or wedged into their somewhat limited space. The 3rd and 7th from the left are "transport-Tuks"."
Another discovery was just how individually unique they are." continues Koka, "Take the first Tuk on the left. This is obviously a high-end machine. Note the pin-striping and the chrome trim not to mention the positively luxurious interior...and not just for the passengers... but the driver too. But that's only the beginning. Like motoring enthusiast the world over owners customize and personalize their Tuk in an effort to make it "their own"."
Concludes Koka, "I came across this group of Tuks in Bangkok at what could best be described as a "tuk- stop", a watering hole for the locals."

"The Drift No3" ©Jay Koka

The Drift No3

by Jay Koka, © 2016
48”w x 22”, (120x55cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection
Please contact the studio for pricing.

"Hot" is the only word that can adequately describe Jay Koka's third in the Drift series.
The Drift No3 follows the general concept of the very successful No1 of 2000 and No2 of 2008. All three are somewhat minimalist concentrating on the effect of speed on a car...but not in a straight line...more at the edge of a long drift. Each is also representative of the painting style of the period.
Feartures the outstanding Porsche 918.

"Friday Night on Ocean - Later" ©Jay Koka

Friday Night on Ocean - Later

by Jay Koka, © 2017
60”w x 36”, (150x90cm) acrylic on canvas, Artist Collection
Please contact the studio for pricing.

Jay Koka: "Friday Night on Ocean - Later" is some minutes after "Friday Night on Ocean" on the same Carmel, California, Ocean Avenue corner. The first group has burned away and along comes a really nice Lamborghini Aventadore to take the space of the 918. I continue to be fascinated by the early evening light on this street.
One reason is that there are no street lights so all of the street illumination comes from the light spilling out of the stores and from the cars themselves. The result is a warmth that I think was what caught my eye with the Aventadore. The car's chrome yellow has been warmed and softened by the mainly yellow light from the store. By the way, that's a '66 Corvette convertible about to make the turn. I actually saw it a little further down the street but I put it into the painting mainly because I liked the red light cast by its brake lights."

"At The Darwaza Gate" ©Jay Koka

At The Darwaza Gate

by Jay Koka, © 2018
48”w x 32”, (110x57cm) acrylic on canvas
Please contact the studio for pricing.

The 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance featured a special exhibit of "Maharaja" cars from India. I saw the Star of India there and thought that such a beautiful car should warrant a painting of some sort but I wasn't sure at the time what it could be. Fast forward to 2017 and Cathy and I are on another of our Asian voyages and find ourselves in Agra, India on the grounds of an area commonly referred to as the Taj Mahal. To say it is beautiful is an understatement of epic proportions. It is the equal of "The Great Pyramid" and "Machu Picchu" in every sense of the word, both of which I have been privileged to experience in person. The "Taj" is perhaps the most beautiful building I have ever seen. An odd thought when one considers that it is a mausoleum.
I am always on the hunt for settings for future paintings. As I absorbed the "Taj" grounds, I knew there was a painting here, just not how it would work out. I thought the last thing the world needs is another rendition of the Taj Mahal and I also thought that a car adjacent to the "Taj" itself would be at best strange… and at worst, culturally insensitive.
You can't see the "Taj" even once inside the main entry gates of the 42 acre grounds. You approach along a lengthy corridor of red sandstone buildings culminating in a ninety degree right turn to face the wonderful Darwaza Gate. As you approach the building, you see the spot at which the "Taj" will appear. You then walk through that portal from darkness to brilliant sunlight and there's the "Taj"…but it takes a moment to resolve itself. Every step is a brilliantly designed and executed drama.I was reviewing my onsite photos of the Taj Mahal in late 2017 and tried a number of drawings with the "Star" and the "Taj" itself. They all seemed contrived and ordinary. And then I stumbled on the idea of the Darwaza Gate…. and the rest of the story is in the painting.
This is the most complicated and most researched painting I have ever completed. I don't think anything in the painting has every actually met anything else. Of course, the scene depicted in the painting is entirely invented. I wanted to capture not just the famous car and iconic buildings but also to present a look at the rich culture of India.
The Star of India is now back in India in the hands of Maharaja Mandhatasinh Jadeja, grandson of the Maharaja of Rajkot, the original commissioner of the magnificent 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II. The car represents a vital element in the automotive history of India with iconic names such as the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth of England being some of the most celebrated individuals having taken a ride in this special car.
Finally, it took 22,000 craftsmen 22 years to create this architectural masterpiece. It only feels like it too

"Pictures of a White Dress Part 1" ©Jay Koka

Pictures of a White Dress Part 1

by Jay Koka, © 2020
34”w x 44”, (85x110cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection

This work began a series of paintings completed in 2020. Ultimately, four paintings were produced featuring the same model and setting with different automobiles. Part 1 depicts a 1962 Ferrari California.
The group of 4 paintings was scheduled to appear at the 2021 RetroMobile Show in Paris. The show was delayed and then eventually cancelled because of the coronavirus restrictions.
The paintings are currently held in the artist collection.

"Pictures of a White Dress Part 4" ©Jay Koka

Pictures of a White Dress Part 4

by Jay Koka, © 2020
34”w x 44”, (85x110cm) acrylic on canvas, artist collection

This work continues a series of paintings completed in 2020. Ultimately, four paintings were produced featuring the same model and setting with different automobiles. Part 4 depicts a 1959 Jaguar XK150.

"Longtails in Phuket" ©Jay Koka

Longtails in Phuket

by Jay Koka, © 2021
44”w x 34”, acrylic on canvas, Artist Collection
NOT FOR SALE

A 2017 trip to the Thai peninsula resulted in first, the 2018 painting "Welcome to Patong Beach" and now "Longtails in Phuket".
The magnificent beach and nearby dock is crowded with these boats called "long-tails". Named because of the exceptionally long drive shaft leading to the prop...as much as 2 meters or more...creating the appearance of a "tail" while in motion. The engine (with prop shaft) can be rotated 180 degrees as shown in this work to store the assembly while docked.
This wide arc of motion also makes them exceptionally maneuverable. The engines are mainly secondhand car and truck engines making purchase and ongoing maintenance economical. Hugely popular, they are not however unique to Thailand, seen throughout Southeast Asia.

"On The Nile" ©Jay Koka

On The Nile

by Jay Koka, © 2021
44”w x 34”, acrylic on canvas, Artist Collection
NOT FOR SALE

A long trip to Egypt that included 6 days on a boat from Aswan to Luxor created an intimate experience of the Nile River. Described as the heart and soul of Egypt, it flows through the country's center with magnificent ancient monuments on each river bank.
The gift of the Nile is its rich soil and each bank is devoted to agriculture... but the desert, especially the edge of the Sahara... is never far from the river's edge and almost always in view.
The painting captures the warmth and languid feel of a relaxing afternoon as you float down the river.